Katia: Kill Stephane
by Quintus C
Summary: A Prequel Adventure fanfiction. Katia takes her fate in her own paws.


**Katia: Kill Stephane**

_Katia. You don't have to do this._

_He's not the one who robbed you. He doesn't deserve to pay for it._

_You said you wanted to be a better person._

_A murderer is not a better person. _

_You're not a murderer, Katia._

Quill-Weave's package was everything. It was the chance she had given me to prove myself, to prove I could accomplish something in this world. It was my commitment to her, my duty, my responsibility. It was our friendship. It was the symbol of my new life.

And I had lost it.

I didn't know how—I didn't know _anything_—but I knew I had to get that package back. No matter what it took.

I had been watching Stephane for days. I knew when he left the Mages Guild every morning, where he ate breakfast, where he shopped for alchemy ingredients, where he sat to watch non-existent birds, and when he returned every night. I knew exactly when and where on his route he would pass through the spot where there was least likely to be any witnesses. I knew which pocket he kept his key in. I had a steel dagger that I had stolen from the castle armory.

I had gone through every option in my mind. There was no way I could stand up to them in a fight. If he saw me, or he knew what I was doing, his magic could turn me into toast in seconds. I was lousy at pickpocketing, so there was no way I'd be able to do that without getting caught. And I didn't know any spells that could paralyze him or put him to sleep.

No, it was clear that if I wanted that key, there was only one way to get it. I had to strike, swiftly and decisively. I had to end our encounter before he even knew I was there.

_That man stood by while you were bewitched and robbed of everything you owned._

_He is as much to blame for what happened to you as she is._

_They have all of Kvatch under their spell. You would be doing all of them a favor._

_You would be ridding the world of evil._

This wasn't what I had hoped for Katia Managan.

Katia Managan was supposed to forge a new life without drinking, without whoring, without getting robbed by a sorceress and having to kill a man to get all her stuff back. She was supposed to be strong, supposed to be capable, supposed to be _better._ But things hadn't gone the way they were supposed to. The universe had again conspired to destroy everything I had worked for, and I was not going to stand for it any longer

No.

I was going to _do something._ I was going to _fight back._

_Take revenge, Katia. Revenge every wrong this universe has put upon you._

_Kill._

_Kill Stephane._

Night was setting in. I climbed up the side of the building along the alleyway where I would ambush him and glided across the rooftop. My feet made not a sound, and I was seen by not a soul as I crouched into position along the edge. Stephane would be passing in just ten minutes.

_Katia, listen to me! You're not the lonely Khajiit girl from your past who gets driven to desperate acts like this. You're Katia Managan, capable of being anything you want to be. Is this what you want to be? Is this what you want to become?_

_You'll no longer be the universe's little chew toy. You'll be taking your fate in your own paws. You'll be putting your stamp on the universe at last!_

_Don't do this._

_Take control!_

_Don't become this._

_Take _vengeance!

Stephane was there.

It was time to decide.

It was time to act.

_Stop!_

_Kill!_

_Stop!_

_Kill!_

Hunting a man was not so different from hunting a mouse.

If there was one thing that came naturally to a Khajiit, it was hunting a mouse.

I pounced.

In an instant, I landed on Stephane's back and plunged the dagger into his neck. The two of us tumbled to the ground in a heap, and I sat up, straddling the corpse.

Congratulations, Katia. You've killed a man.

Are you happy?

I took a deep breath and pulled the dagger back reeking.

Katia Managan. Khajiit girl determined to make a new life for herself. Adventurer. Aspiring wizard.

Murderer.

Do you feel powerful yet? Do you feel like you've taken control of your fate at last?

I searched Stephane's pocket and found the key to the Mages Guild. Then I was quickly back on my feet and dashing away.


End file.
